Manchester Airport (MAN/EGCC) has seen strong growth in the US market meaning the North of England is now better connected to the States than at any other time.
Flights to Seattle began in May with Thomas Cook bringing the total number of US destinations from Manchester to 13. The new route makes Manchester Airport the sixth largest airport in Europe for passengers travelling to America.
Manchester is also the only airport outside of London to offer flights to San Francisco, Boston, Houston and Los Angeles.
Year on year Manchester Airport has seen 7% growth on US flights with 1.7m passengers flying stateside in the 2017/2018 financial year.
The growth is providing opportunities for business in the north also. The US is the UK’s single largest trading partner, accounting for around a fifth of all UK exports, which was worth more than £100bn in 2016.
Inward tourism gets a boost too. According to VisitBritain the UK can expect around 4.1m visit from US tourists this year, an increase of 18% on 2016. The North West is the fastest growing region in the UK for American tourists, growing at 21% year on year (Jan-Sept 16 vs Jan-Sept 17).
CEO of Manchester Airport, Andrew Cowan said: “Our continued growth to the USA is testament to the fact people want to fly direct from the North, rather than going via other airports.
“It is incredibly pleasing to see that Manchester is above the average growth rate to the USA and our position in Europe is excellent. It cements our position as the hub for the North and the global gateway to the world.
“Our growth is a massive benefit to the entire region, as well as journey time savings, our routes unlock a host of business and economic opportunities, as we plug Manchester into key US cities and destinations.”
VisitBritain Director Patricia Yates added: “Inbound tourism is one of Britain’s most valuable export industries and we want to provide a world-class experience to the millions of visitors who travel here every year, more than 70% of whom arrive by air.
“We also want visitors to explore more of the country and making it easier for them to get here by increasing route connectivity and seat-capacity into key northern gateways such as Manchester is a crucial part of our competitive tourism offer.”
US Destinations from Manchester Airport
- Seattle – Thomas Cook Airlines
- Houston – Singapore Airlines
- New York (JFK and Newark) – Thomas Cook Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2.com
- Los Angeles – Thomas Cook Airlines
- Boston – Thomas Cook Airlines and Virgin Atlantic
- San Francisco – Thomas Cook Airlines and Virgin Atlantic
- Chicago – American Airlines
- Orlando (Sanford and Orlando International) – Thomas Cook Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, TUI
- Las Vegas – Thomas Cook Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
- Atlanta – Virgin Atlantic
- Philadelphia – American Airlines